Redtail Cartography harnesses Google Earth to pinpoint RTK coverage

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Redtail Cartography’s new RTK signal mapping service offers precision ag providers and their customers a graphic depiction of coverage from radio-based RTK systems. It uses Google Earth to show high- and low-accuracy coverage areas, as well as coverage gaps resulting from hills and other topographic impediments.

The service is designed to help precision ag providers communicate, improve and expand coverage of RTK base stations, and to assist farmers and other mobile RTK users in quantifying coverage from semi-permanent or mobile base stations.

Unlike traditional RTK maps, which offer general coverage circles around base stations without factoring in obstructions or topographical features, Redtail Cartography maps provide color-coded layers showing signal accuracy and gaps based on range and topography. This takes the guesswork out of understanding and enhancing signal coverage by adding RTK towers or using repeater antennas, says Chad Pfitzer, company president.

To generate a custom coverage map, customers provide latitude and longitude of their base station, along with the antenna height. Redtail Cartography then uses its RTK expertise and Google Earth mapping skills to create a custom map file for viewing in Google Earth. The company also can create wall maps of RTK radio signal propagation to assist growers with seasonal planning and field operations, or planning for additional RTK bases or repeaters.

The suggested retail price to create a map file from a fixed site with an antenna height of 20 feet or greater is $250. A mobile/repeater map file retails for $50. For information, write Redtail Cartography, Dept. FIN, 215 Agate Way Broomfield, CO 80020, call 605-850-4035, or visit www.redtailcartography.com.